Considerations regarding folk dances and the satirical extempore verses brought about by the fair (nedeia) on the Găina (Hen) Mountain
Autor: Dominuţ I. Pădureanu
The present study represents the first synthesis in the specialized Romanian literature regarding the dances and the satirical extempore verses brought about by the fair (nedeia) on the Găina (Hen) Mountain.
The first part of the study briefly presents the geographical and ethnographical framework in which the Găina Mountain is integrated – attested documentarily in 1767 (Joanne Fridvaldszky), of Latin origin (< gallina>)- , and ends with the conclusion that the feast (nedeia) on the Găina Mountain leads to marriages and not the marriages to the feast.
The second part of this study surveys the works, studies and articles appeared during 1793-2002, the authors and their view points in connection with the dances and the satirical extempore verses occasioned by the feast “Nedeia” on the “Găina ” Mountains.
The author, by appealing to the local toponymy proves the oldness and the continuity of these practices on the mountain heights of the “Moţilor” Land. In this context, it is underlined the statement of Michael Conrad von Heydendorff (1793) according to which the words “Fair of fetilor (girls)” didn’t designate the feast (nedeia) it self but the place (the flat mountainous region covered with lawns) where it is held.
The author points out the synonymy and the meaning of the terms “extempore song” and “satirical extempore verse” in the text, including 22 satirical extempore verses relating to the feast “Nedeia” on the Găina Mountain, from which some of them are printed for the first time. This fact confirms again that the lyrical gense of the satirical extempore verses is well represented in the folklore of the “Moţilor” Land (moţ = Romanian from the region of the Apuseni Mountains).
The third and the last part of this study is dedicated to the dances on the Gaina Mountain proving their oldness and continuity.
A special place in the economy of the chapter is occupied by the famous “moţesc” dance named “ŢARINA”; the author presents its etymology, the collectors and the interpreters of this dance, as well as the most beautiful and important dances named “ŢARINA” in the “Moţilor” Land, and the skill and the passion of the “moţi” taking part in the fair “Nedeia” on the Găina Mountain, during this dance.